Nightmares, Secrets, and Museums
By Sergio A. Ortiz


Think of me as Dionysus
resting with a fetus inside my leg
as lasting less than a candle or a rock

Think of me as gusts unexpected
vibrations on earth’s surface
(it does not fancy us here)
Grapes shrivel as leaves fade
to their sepia dwellings

Think of me as wordless translations
of poems breathing in the silent spaces
all over this museum, as secrets
in a secret language


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Ortiz is an educator, poet, and photographer. He has a B.A. in English literature from Inter-American University, and a M.A. in philosophy from World University. His photographs will appear in The Neglected Ration and The Monongahela Review. He was recently published, or is forthcoming in: The Battered Suitcase, Zygote in my Coffee, Right Hand Pointing, Poui: Cave Hill Journal of Creative Writing, Writers’ Bloc, and Temenos. Flutter Press published his chapbook, At the Tail End of Dusk (2009).